ABU DHABI — Russia reaffirmed Friday that it will not abandon its demand for Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region, hardening positions ahead of rare three-way talks involving Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. officials aimed at ending Europe’s deadliest conflict in decades, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
The negotiations in Abu Dhabi mark the first direct, publicly acknowledged talks between Moscow and Kyiv under a U.S.-backed initiative promoted by President Donald Trump, nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite renewed diplomatic momentum, territorial control remains the central and most divisive issue.
“Russia’s position is well known,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Ukrainian armed forces must leave the territory of the Donbas. This is a very important condition.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking before the talks, confirmed that territory would dominate the agenda. “The Donbas is a key issue,” he said, expressing cautious hope that the talks could help end the war, while warning that outcomes remain uncertain.
High-level delegations from all three countries traveled to the United Arab Emirates following a flurry of diplomacy. Trump met Zelensky earlier this week in Davos, while U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held late-night talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Witkoff is leading the American delegation, joined by Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner.
Ukraine’s team includes presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, senior negotiator David Arakhamia, and ground forces commander Andriy Gnatov. Moscow confirmed it is sending an all-military delegation led by GRU director Gen. Igor Kostyukov.
Russia currently occupies roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and has warned it will seek full control of eastern Ukraine by force if negotiations fail. Kyiv has countered that conceding land would reward aggression and invite future attacks, insisting that any territorial compromise would require a national referendum.
While Putin’s aides described recent talks with U.S. officials as “useful,” Russian forces continued military operations, underscoring the fragile balance between diplomacy and war. This week’s strikes left large parts of Kyiv without electricity and heat as temperatures plunged below freezing.
As talks begin, both sides remain far apart with the fate of the Donbas standing as the clearest measure of whether diplomacy can overcome the battlefield.
